Listing Analytical Skills on Your Resume

Analytical Hard Skills vs. Soft Skills

Many job seekers will need a good mix of hard and soft skills to truly thrive in the workplace. However, it can be difficult to differentiate between the two, especially if you are new to the workforce.

1. Hard Skills

   Hard skills are any technical skills or knowledge related to your job. This can deal with anything from familiarity with specific work-related programs or equipment to data analysis. Most analytical skills typically fall under hard skills.

   Pulling keywords from the job description is a good place to start for gathering up the right hard skills. For instance, if a job description specifically calls for a candidate with “social media management” experience, then you will want to list that under your skills. Doing so can also get you past any applicant tracking systems (ATS) that will scan through your application for these keywords. By only listing relevant key skills for the role, your resume will get in front of a real person much quicker.

   If you have any relevant metrics to pull from your last job (i.e., number of sales), then it will solidify your case as the best candidate for any given position. This will also act as proof of your skills in action.

2. Soft Skills

   Soft skills are more personal in nature and often say more about your personality and how you will fit into the company culture.

   Problem-solving skills, for instance, are considered soft skills. If you are able to analyze problems and find effective, clear solutions, then you will be extremely valuable to almost any team. Additionally, being a team player, flexibility or adaptability, and other qualities will make you seem like someone easy to get along with. Hiring managers will be more open to hiring people who are open themselves, after all.

   Overall, your soft skills should show that you are not only skilled in what you do, but a great person to work with as well.